10 years ago, to persuade my husband that I wasn't insane to want to shop at Whole Foods, I drew up a spreadsheet of items we bought at our local Giant and compared them with WF. Giant turned out to be more expensive, AND the produce was less fresh.

I haven't done the same calculation recently, and I know it's tempting to put packaged, fancy things in your WF cart, but if you stick to staples and cook from scratch, it might not actually be more expensive, and unless you need specialty foods from your country of origin, everything is there in one store. We go to H-Mart or Lotte for our Asian food needs, and we buy the gigantic bags of rice there.

The usual advice applies: find ways to create cheaper protein and be very careful with prepackaged, already cooked/prepared or processed items. I had a hard time with this for my kids' lunches, since they always wanted the little fruit cups and individual snack packets - now I can afford them, but for many years, it was all whole foods, cut up and prepared by me and put into little containers. I've done plenty of rice with beans (together they form a complete protein), stretched out stews with lots of potatoes and other root veggies, etc. When meat is on sale, store it in your freezer. Fruits and veggies can be cheaper frozen, and just as nutritious. Stocking up on sale items is helpful generally, but do keep on eye on whether it's a good sale or not - sometimes they're sneaky. We have a water filter and we buy milk. That's all for drinks.

Basically, eating unprepared foods takes more time out of your day, but if that's what your budget allows, then so be it.

Anonymous wrote:I think you $1000-$1200 is quite reasonable. I can eat quite cheaply as I love oatmeal, salads and home made soups. It's the picky growing kid who wants ribeye and packed lunch.
I spend about $600 a month. Trying to get it down to $500.

For a family of four?

I think you $1000-$1200 is quite reasonable. I can eat quite cheaply as I love oatmeal, salads and home made soups. It's the picky growing kid who wants ribeye and packed lunch.
I spend about $600 a month. Trying to get it down to $500.

I don't think red meat is that healthy so I don't cook a ton of it. I do more chicken and turkey which I think is also cheaper.

We also don't spend much on beverages like a PP.

Both DH and I try to eat leftovers for lunch.

Some random pantry purchases at Costco that I am hopeful will save money: taco seasoning, honey, vanilla.

The trick is having the time to get the products at each store that are cheap. Trader Joes may have cheaper condiments, but their meat is expensive. Costco is best for staples. Giant/Safeway is best for sale items where you stock up on soup or meat when it's on sale.

Anonymous wrote:I really think some grocery stores are just raising prices to see what they can get away with.

We’ve just started going to places like Lidl/Aldi/Trader Joe’s first, and then filling in the gaps with Giant and such. Those ones seem to be noticeably cheaper.

I totally, totally agree.

I do not buy beverages (aside from milk for children). I meal plan based on sales. I have an extra freezer so I really stock up on good deals I keep a good stock of the basics at home. Aside from fresh produce I have nothing I really need that I have to over pay for.

I really think some grocery stores are just raising prices to see what they can get away with.

We’ve just started going to places like Lidl/Aldi/Trader Joe’s first, and then filling in the gaps with Giant and such. Those ones seem to be noticeably cheaper.

Ok I am definitely not one of those families that keeps it at that budget. But I’ll take a stab at a cheap-ish day of eating.

Breakfast:
Oatmeal (made from a big canister of rolled oats)
Sliced bananas

Lunch:
Can of soup and crackers or homemade tuna sandwich on inexpensive bread
Clementines or apple (not organic)

Snack:
Homemade muffin (your own recipe or those jiffy boxes are super cheap) and a glass of milk

Dinner:
Spaghetti and meat sauce (cheap ground beef)
Frozen mixed vegetables

Buy less carbohydrate/starch. They look like a good price but they don't fill you up a its mostly useless.

Avid products with water and sugar. The most overpriced foods are mostly water and sugar.

Use home water, pure oil and vinegar, and dry spices for flavor/sauce.

How about you post what you buy as we tell you what to sub or cut

I spend very little on food when my husband is away. The two key things - I don't eat much meat, and when I do it's chicken thighs or drumsticks, so no expensive cuts, and I buy them in bulk and freeze. I do buy frozen shrimp and salmon, but I use them in salads, so it's not much per meal. The other thing, I don't buy any packaged food besides ice cream - no cereal, no appetizers that you pop in the oven, no crackers, no salad dressings (I use oil + balsamic vinegar), no spreads, etc. Those things cost a lot. I also don't buy too much of "fancy" produce - berries, asparagus, etc are not a staple for me. I often roast or grill vegetables, but it's bell peppers, zucchini, eggplants, carrots, cauliflower, etc. plus mushrooms.

My only spending vices food wise are cheeses and coffee beans. I haven't figured out how to bring those costs down without sacrificing the quality.

OP, there are so many bloggers and YouTubers who solely focus on saving money- groceries and otherwise. Check it out.

Please walk me through what you eat every week.

We recently had a thread about how much people spend on food every week, and some families of four were in the $250/$300 range.
I need to get my costs lowered and apparently it could be done. I would love to know an example of what you eat for each meal in a week.
(I shop at Aldi, Lidl, Trader Joe’s, so not spending outrageously at WF).